Tangible Loneliness
by Fate Pwns You
Summary: Where was the line between imagination and reality drawn and exactly how thick was it? Everyone had told her he wasn't real, but she knew he was as real as the misfortune that plagued her life. Joker/Alice and some Julius/Alice if you squint. AU.


**Summary: Where was the line between imagination and reality drawn and exactly how thick was it? Everyone had told her he wasn't real, but she knew he was as real as the misfortune that plagued her life. Joker/Alice and some Julius/Alice if you squint. AU.**

**I have the biggest feeling something like this has been done before, I just-**

**Also, I tried writing in a different kind of style but I think I messed up in some places so if the phrasing is awkward, I apologize in advance.**

**Quite obviously the HnKnA series is not mine.**

**-.-**

**Tangible Loneliness **

Alice could remember the day he first came into her life quite clearly.

It was odd considering that a majority of her memories that went back that far in her life all started with him in one shape or form.

He first appeared when she was only five years old.

Her shoulder length brown haired bangs casting over her eyes as she laid on her stomach coloring a picture of a circus tent. Her father had promised to take her and her older sister, Lorina out to the circus when the weekend rolled around. Alice had never been there before but she could recall from her sister's words that it was a place to have fun and see amazing performances.

Lorina was still at school and Alice had gotten home not too long ago from kindergarten.

The tent looked so pretty and she couldn't wait to show her sister when she came back.

When she had next looked up, he had just been standing there as though nothing were out of the ordinary.

His outfit was in a sense to the young girl, other worldly. Blacks, greys, and reds along with the golden rings that went over his shoulders and chest area… She could remember feeling an overwhelming sense of glee at his appearance that just seemed so foreign to her at the time. His single red eye was shown gleaming at her warmly as the other was hidden behind an odd looking black patch that held a yellow design on the front and he also wore a strange hat on his head that made her turquoise irises glow in amazement.

He said his name was Joker.

An odd name it was to her, but due to its similarities to the word 'joke', the little girl couldn't help but grin and introduce herself to him kindly.

That had been the first time they met and afterwards, Joker continued popping up whenever Alice found herself alone.

He had been kinder back then or perhaps that had just been the way her childish innocence had perceived him to be…

Whenever she was alone in her room with both her parents either at work or tending to the house, the redhead would always appear near her and give her company that she gladly accepted.

Also considering that she didn't have any friends at school so gaining him as a companion was something that made her feel intensely grateful and even excited for those times when her mother told her to go off in her room and play or her dad insisted she go to the dining room table to complete her homework. It was because that meant it was practically an opened invitation for him to appear and each time he did, he always had time to show her a card trick or even juggle a couple of things.

For the first two years, Joker had been that comforting partner that she needed to confide her little complaints whenever she got in trouble and sent to time out or generally just be there to play with her when she desired a playmate.

When she had turned seven, things started to change.

She had been going into second grade and with her new age, she was moved from the small building in school and her classes were now in closer proximity to her fifth grade older sister who had made it a goal to get Alice to abandon her anti-social behavior and to make some school friends.

After she made a couple new friends she hadn't even noticed how rarely Joker seemed to appear.

She could remember her best friend Eve, she was a sweet girl who had not too long ago lost one of her front teeth and her blonde hair was always pulled up into two neat ponytails.

The two got along amazingly well and it soon came to the point where they were practically inseparable.

It was rare that they weren't over at each other's house after school to play or do homework together.

Looking back, Alice supposed the signs of Joker's change in behavior could have been seen from back then because she could recall one night before she went to sleep, after Lorina had tucked her in and kissed her good night, the redhead showed up by her bedside for the first time in a while.

He spoke of how he missed her and Alice being as childishly innocent as she was, insisted he come around more and even become friends with Eve with her.

Joker had smiled, though it had been a hollow smile with no meaning and he told her plainly he couldn't possibly share her with anyone especially with someone that constantly monopolized their time with her to the point he couldn't even see her anymore.

Alice hadn't truly understood what he meant at the time but after he told her that he should be appearing to her more often after that night, she could only smile and nod.

It had been the next day that Eve had been announced as hospitalized.

Alice could remember she rushed over to her best friend's house after school to question her parents on what happened to her and the young girl's older brother had been the only one to offer her an answer that Eve had been in a car accident along with their parents the night before.

He had also told her more complicated things on the status of her condition but due to the high level of vocabulary used, she hadn't been able to follow along too well, however the one thing she did manage to make from it was that Eve's chances of survival were low.

The news shook her and she had soon found herself withdrawing from most social activity within the classroom, the tragedy that took her best friend keeping her from opening up.

Joker had kept his promise to her that night, and sure enough his presence became more frequent thereafter.

Things were different between them at that point though.

She could remember at times his temper would be short and though he'd never snap on her, some of his words toward her mother or father were chillingly terrifying.

Her parents also came to notice that she was 'talking to herself' more often and they labeled Joker as her imaginary friend, something that she took in with confusion because it was so obvious that he wasn't imaginary because he was physically there… Alice could touch him and feel him, his dark jester costume, his shimmering red hair, and even his smooth lightly tanned skin… It was all real.

Joker insisted that he was only there for her, that was the reason only she could see him and she had taken the answer without much questioning.

When summer vacation rolled around and Alice's parents took them out of the suburbs to spend more time in the countryside with their grandparents she had taken a lot of liking to the opened fields of grass and all spaciousness.

She spent more time with Lorina reading and when she wasn't doing that, she found herself off laying in one of the tall trees out back with Joker.

He had told her more about what he was because he figured she was getting old enough anyways.

The conversation blurred out in her memories whenever she tried thinking back on it and all that Alice could remember is that he definitely wasn't a figment of her imagination and that he was very much real.

She didn't know if it was a false memory, but she could remember him placing a flower by her ear and insisting that they were meant to be together forever.

Things got fuzzy in her mind from there but after that, the next major incident that she could recall had involved Joker losing his patience with her father after he scolded Alice harshly on tracking dirt inside of the house from her shoes and he'd pushed the older man down.

At the time, Alice had been horrified and amazed that it had been done, however she quickly found herself under punishment when her dad turned around and gave her a couple of lashes to her hand for shoving him before he sent her to her room for the night.

Alice had blamed him for getting her in trouble and he could only smile and insist that he had only been doing what she wanted.

She didn't really have it in her to argue because Lorina had come inside of her room later to lightly chastise her over her actions.

Joker's spontaneous actions had seemed to grow worse and worse with each passing day after Alice's eighth birthday.

At the time she had been in third grade and she had made a resolution in herself to make more friends even though nobody would be able to replace Eve, she knew she couldn't be lonely forever.

She had come close to befriending a rather rambunctious trouble maker named Boris; they hadn't had much time to grow close because due to his misconduct he soon had to be transferred to another class.

Other than him, she could remember a couple of other boys that had all been familiar with her more popular sister and they all wished to get closer to Alice to get to her.

She hadn't minded that much back then, she was just grateful to have people talking to her.

One in boy particular, a dark haired one in a grade above her, William… He had been her first crush and she was an absolute little girl about it all.

At the time, she kind of knew he only hung out with her to get to her sister, but every minute she spent with him had been enough and she was pretty sure she couldn't have been more obvious about her little puppy crush she had on him.

Joker didn't like him.

The redhead had insisted that he wasn't worth her time and Alice should spend her time on other things.

Alice felt foolish for not really listening to the underlying foreboding tone that his words had held now.

In short, the next time William had come over to visit and he, Alice, and Lorina were all going down the staircase of their home, Alice could only watch in mortification as Joker 'bumped' into her with enough force for her to crash into William who had been walking ahead of her, and the young boy had been sent painfully tumbling down the staircase.

His ankle had been fractured as a result and Alice had been given the ultimate lecture from both her parents on her actions.

Though she tried desperately to convince them that Joker had been the cause, every time she brought his name up, it was as though the intensity of her parents' anger became stronger.

Afterwards, she could remember Lorina beckoning to her to her own room where her elder sister comforted her past her tears of frustration and sadness.

Out of everyone in her family it was as though Lorina was the only one that believed her when she said Joker was a real entity. Even little Edith made her loose claims on how Alice was childish for still having an imaginary friend and sometimes Alice was sure that behind her back, her young sibling taunted her about it with her little friends.

Lorina soothed her and told her that if Joker was around and he truly was causing Alice trouble, he wasn't the type of friend she needed to have around. She informed her that she needed to move on past him and get more dependable friends that didn't get her into situations like that.

Alice at the time had always been so hung up on her sister's advice and she could only nod though she was a bit afraid on how to tell him that.

"Just tell him you don't need him around you anymore." Lorina had informed her gently, her hand rubbing at the top of Alice's light brown hair softly, "You don't need someone negative like that in your life, Alice."

Alice had gone off to her room right after that and tried her hardest keep her sister's word in mind for her to do so, but she found herself unable to even create the scenario in her thoughts.

When she had entered her room, the redhead stood by her dresser counter, his arms folded over his chest while he watched her plainly with no sign of recognizable emotions.

She could remember feeling fear of his reaction because she knew he had definitely heard it all. Her hands clutched at her pink bed sheets tightly and she kept her gaze locked at her lap for she knew if she looked into his eye that she would probably end up unable to speak.

"Lorina says you have to leave." The nine year old softly informed him, "I'm sorry…"

A beat of silence passed by after her sentence and it was as though her last word was beginning to echo in her own mind. That had been enough to make Alice feel herself growing anxious at his reaction.

He was going to be mad.

The room was still quiet and the only sound that had managed to reach her ears at that moment had been her racing heart that was still pounding in anticipation for what he'd have to say.

A few more seconds went by and then another and another.

Alice had then swallowed a lump in her throat before she hesitantly brought her head up to glance over where he stood, his scarlet eye hardened at that moment with such seriousness she had never seen in him before. A smile was on his face, one that didn't fit him in the slightest and it gave her goose bumps just looking at it.

Fear.

She could remember the bone chilling fear she felt because she was so afraid of what he was going to do.

She had no idea if he was going get mad and hurt her, hurt Lorina, hurt _anyone_.

Alice could recall the jumping feeling in heart when he first spoke, his voice so deep and smooth that it practically made the whole room rumble—she wouldn't have been surprised if it actually did, honestly.

"Lorina wants me to go, but do you?"

The question had taken her by surprise back then and Alice found her hands beginning to tremble ever so slowly as a frown made its way to her lips and tears began to well up in her eyes.

Desperately, she began wiping at her eyes with the sleeves of her PJs and she hoped it wasn't too obvious how petrified she was.

As though reading her thoughts, Joker hummed, a tone Alice was familiar with as a nursery rhyme that both used to sing together when she was five.

"You're really afraid of me, aren't you?" He chuckled, though there was no humor in it, his scarlet reflected how negatively he viewed the current situation at hand and he brought his fist together his mouth to catch his chuckle once more, "I'm hurt. You know you don't have to be scared of me, silly Alice."

"I'm sorry." Alice apologized, her voice was shaky from her tearful display earlier and she criticized herself inwardly for evening speaking in the first place.

Joker began walking toward her bedside now and Alice allowed her eyes to dull the instant he took a seat.

"You seem to forget that everything I do is based off of your own desire." His hand extended outward and Alice winced when his index finger poked at her chest lightly, "Whatever your little heart wants is what I do. I'm practically your little faithful servant, so I'd never even dream of hurting you."

His smile was charming and his eyes actually met it in terms of warmth. Alice now felt herself ease a bit though she did grow a bit more puzzled.

"I didn't want you to hurt William or anyone else! So that's not true!" She protested lightly, she didn't want to raise her voice too highly lest her sister or one of her parents enter.

The very thought of her heart secretly being that dark kind of scared her. She never thought of herself as a mean person like that and she didn't want to believe herself to be either.

Joker soothingly took her hand; his skin was as warm and real as ever. It made it harder for her to believe he was just all a part of her imagination.

"Well, that's true. Though as much as I am to follow the orders of your desires, I do have emotions of my own and sometimes I admit to being childish in those respects."

His words had been brutally honest and Alice in that moment couldn't help but be entirely disgusted in a sense from how he could admit to being a bad person. To actually hurt people just because he felt childish? Wasn't he supposed to be an adult?

"So tell me then, Alice," He continued now with his garnet eye sparkling in anticipation, "Do you truly want me to go?"

The feeling of her throat suddenly clamming up in anxiety was so clear to her whenever she thought back on that moment. She could remember feeling so nervous beneath his gaze while she tried to croak out an answer.

"Yes…"

"You're lying." His retort was so instant and strong that Alice had found her eyes widening in surprise.

Joker let out a loud laugh, his hand going to his mouth while he watched her in mirth, "Alice, you're supposed to be a good girl! How bad, lying straight to my face!"

Alice frowned, her eyebrows furrowing, "Joker, please just go. I'm not lying; I really want you to leave." Her tone had been incredibly soft spoken and she knew it was all because she was still fearful of him growing angry and lashing out in some way. "You hurt William and you got me into trouble, he's probably in a lot of pain right now because of you…"

Then she remembered Joker's eyes lighting up in amusement, a grin breaking out on his lips that made the young girl blush, "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

His words had caused her head to shake rapidly, "Just leave! I'm done with this and you! Please, just _leave_!"

A moment of silence had then enveloped the room after her words and a couple of seconds later she felt Joker's hand leave hers and right after his weight on her bed was lifted.

She had then watched up as he stood his face bright with charisma,

"Fair enough. Though I do hope you remember what I told you before." His eye shimmered with an emotion she couldn't quite place, "Can't wait to see you again, Alice."

Just like that, he disappeared out of view as though he had never even been there in the first place.

It had taken Alice about the rest of the night to recover from their exchange and she hadn't been too sure on if he was gone for good, however he hadn't showed up the next time she found herself alone in her room.

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months and Joker had yet to appear before her once again, though his departing words and that smile on his face remained etched her mind whenever she found her thoughts trailing back to him whenever she was alone in her room.

Her tenth birthday rolled around and there was still no sign of him, as did her eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth and by the time her seventeenth birthday came by, Joker was practically a long and forgotten memory of the past.

Eighteen was a strong year of her life for her filled with so many changes.

Both her mom and Lorina had died within a year of one another, leaving Alice alone with her father that soon became a distant workaholic and her little sister Edith left to live with their grandparents, so for the most part Alice found herself completely alone.

She didn't really mind it, she liked being alone. It was the feeling of being lonely that she couldn't bear and for the most part she managed to keep that feeling at bay by submerging herself in reading books constantly as a means to escape reality.

Fantasy and adventure were her favorite genres with horror and mystery following closely behind.

She couldn't help but enjoy that chilling feeling she always got whenever she was reading one of her suspense books in her room alone as though she were being watched. It made the experience all the more real.

She was also entering her final year of high school that year and she had already been admitted into the top university of her choosing. True to herself when she first entered High School, she made a vow to never date and to keep her focus entirely on her studies. Now that she was basically done with her secondary education, she recently found struck with Cupid's arrow as it seemed every day after school she found herself going back to the bookshop a walks away from her home primarily because of the grumpy, long haired co-owner of the store that was immensely kinder than he was willing to let on.

They were already somewhat friends, but she wanted so badly to be more and she was determined to do so by becoming closer to him.

Now, focusing entirely on the present Alice found her hands slipping into her jacket's pockets snuggly as she pulled open the transparent bookstore door, allowing the little bell at the top to give a chime to give awareness of her arrival.

Stepping inside, she glanced over the counter and when spotted the short haired man busy typing away at one of the computers she smiled widely and gave a wave, "Hey, Mr. Ringmarc is Julius here today?"

The golden eyed man blinked and glanced away from his screen to give the girl a polite look, "Oh, hello Alice." He returned the beam graciously, "Yes, he is… I believe he's in storage; we got a new shipment of books earlier, so he's probably sorting through them." He informed while gesturing down to the back of the store.

Alice nodded her head, "Thank you!"

Already being familiar with the whole store and having a majority of the employees on a first name basis with her, she found her usual spot near the far corner of the room that was always vacant, as though reserved just for her.

Setting down her small satchel she opened it up and retrieved her hard cover book that she had bought just the other day though she was already a bit more than halfway through with it.

Normally she always just sat and waited until Julius came around and the two would talk with another either about books or just their daily life casually. She was sure that one of the employees already went down to inform him of her attendance in the shop and she couldn't wait to speak with him.

He really was one of the highlights of her day.

"Is this seat taken?"

Not wanting to be rude, Alice shook her head, her eyes scanning the words in the novel thoroughly.

"Thank you."

The voice was deep and obviously belonged to a male and Alice didn't allow her eyes to leave her book though she did find her eyebrows knitting slightly in confusion when she heard the small squeaking noise the chair directly across from her gave as it was pulled outward for the man to sit.

Of all the empty seats in the bookshop and he chooses near her?

She knew Julius would probably be uncomfortable sitting with a random stranger, but she hoped he wouldn't mind too much.

"What book are you reading?"

"It's called Halaexo." She answered smoothly, her eyes briefly cutting upward to get a look at the newcomer in curiosity.

When her eyes did, she found nothing but fear and shock running its way throughout her whole body, like a paralyzing drug her body was frozen in place as her mind attempted to frantically register what exactly she was seeing.

The face was entirely unmistakable, even the eye patch to his left eye was the same with the same yellow design that Alice had been so accustomed to seeing so many years previous. His clothes weren't like that of a ring master and he didn't have the same jester hat that the brunette had once loved to pull at, instead he was dressed so _casually_, it kind of spooked her out.

Was this really happening?

The redhead didn't appear to notice her discomfort and absorbing reaction to his presence and he smiled charmingly, "Halaexo? Sounds interesting. What's it about if you don't mind me asking?"

She found herself unable to truly speak as she willed for herself to let some of the questions that were raging within her mind to come out.

He wasn't real, he was imaginary.

He hadn't been around for so long, so why was he back?

This didn't make any sense.

Alice could hear her heartbeat picking up while the lump that seemed to be forming in her throat grew bigger, "I-I don't understand…"

Joker blinked, his head cocking to the side in a rather cute way, "You look like you're halfway through the book but you don't understand what's going on in it? How odd." He gave a smile, "But it does sound like something you'd do."

A pain of nausea rippled throughout her stomach and she stood up instantly before she began packing up her book into her satchel as quickly as she could.

The memories she got of him hurting those around her were flooding back to her mind and she couldn't stand the eerie feeling that executed throughout her body at the thought of him doing it again.

This time she was older and she was smarter. She wouldn't let him do anything like that again this time—but he wasn't even real, was he?

The though made her pause inwardly for a moment, but she quickly caught herself because her main priority wasn't debating on his existence, it was getting away from him whether or not he was all in her mind or not.

Before she could even begin to walk, he was suddenly ahead of her, his hand grasping at her wrist gently while he gazed down at her and their height difference only made her all the more uneasy.

"Why the rush?" He inquired with a smile, "We haven't seen each other in so long and you try to leave so soon?" He gave a small pout and the expression in all honesty only highlighted exactly how attractive he was.

She could never really remember him being so tall back when she was younger and she certainly didn't remember him appearing so visually pleasing either.

It was almost embarrassing how she was noticing all of this now.

"I'm sorry… I just…" She was at a loss of what to say now as she attempted to wiggle out of his grip.

Sensing her discomfort in his hold, the redhead immediately released her.

"I've missed you, Alice." He pleasantly informed her as his eye closed and his expression melted into that of genuine kindness.

It was strange now. Anyone that walked up would only be seeing her talk to herself and they'd surely think she was crazy.

Uncertain, Alice cleared her throat, "Please leave. I'm not a child anymore, I don't need you around." As her words were low, she slung her satchel over her head and she gave him an apologetic look, "If people see me, they'll think I'm insane, so just go again." Her command came out a bit more strongly and forceful toward the end while she motioned with her wrist for him to 'shoo.'

Joker gave a chuckle, "Humans toss the word insane around so loosely, it's almost sad."

"Joker, leave now."

Ignoring her, the redhead took a step toward her with his looming figure making her frown openly, "You're special for being able to see my kind and you're incredibly lucky I was the one to claim you rather than my brother. I don't think he would have been as patient with you or your family in the beginning."

Confused, Alice watched at him with her lips now moving into a scowl, "What are you talking about?" She took a step backward, her heart now beginning to pick up speed and her face starting to heat up, "Joker, I'm not kidding around with you, you need to leave again."

"You tell me to 'leave again' but it's funny because I never really left in the first place."

Alice blinked as the man took hold of her hand and lightly gave the back of it a kiss, "You never wanted me to go so I never did. I was always around, Alice; you just didn't give it much thought."

"You're starting to creep me out, stop it!" She exclaimed while grabbing her hand back, her teal eyes watching down at him frantically, "I don't know what you are but—"

"Don't tell me you still think I'm just a part of your imagination." The man folded his arms across his chest and gave a tsking noise, a look of pure amusement coming across his handsome features, "For a pessimistic woman, you sure place a lot of importance in yourself."

"If you're not a part of my imagination, then what the hell are you?" She couldn't hold herself back from cursing, her fear and frustration now starting to intertwine.

The male grinned openly, "We don't have a name as far as human terms go, however I can tell you that I'm never leaving you for as long as you breathe on this earth." His head inclined to the side a bit, "If I remember correctly, you didn't have much opposition to that when you were younger."

Still not fully believing what was happening, Alice ran an aggravated hand throughout her hair.

"I do not have the time for this. If this is your idea of a joke, it's really not funny."

"Aww, you always loved my jokes when you were younger."

Grunting, Alice watched as a pair of girls passed by her table and she paused for a moment, hoping neither of them would stare at her or openly remark on how weird she was for speaking to herself, however both of them kept walking and speaking to one another as though nothing were off.

Confused for a moment, Alice found her hands dropping to her sides in thought as to if they even noticed her go.

"Can you please just leave?" She bit her bottom lip and turned to him desperately, "Before I may not have wanted you to go, but now I really do." She could remember how he said he'd always follow her heart's desire and she was more than sure that her heart's desire was for him to not exist anywhere near her, so it'd have to work.

Joker calmly watched down at her, "You say that, but even up until now you're lying at me straight through your teeth." His hand reached to cup under her chin and he leaned down to her face closely, his single scarlet eye looking into hers intensely, "Silly Alice, I know you better than anyone."

Alice found herself wincing in surprise as his lips came down gently onto hers.

The kiss was soft and his lips were so warm and somewhere in the back of her mind she felt incredibly embarrassed because her own lips were so chapped and cold; however she pushed past that thought while she violently wiggled away from him.

"Oh, I see I'm interrupting something."

Alice felt her eyes grow wider as she turned over to see Julius standing, his blue eyes critically observing the two of them with his arms folded over his chest.

The brunette instantly pulled away from the male that still had her chin held in his grasp and nothing but short but despair and dread erupted throughout Alice's being as she prepared to call out to him to defend herself but she found her lips unable to move apart.

The sensation instilled fear into her body while she moved both of her hands to her mouth desperately.

Joker gave a small chuckle, "Sorry, we didn't think anyone would see us back here." His tone was so cheerful and carefree that anyone that saw them would assume that they were truly just a normal couple that had been caught doing a bit too much PDA in a school hallway.

"I see. Well, my apologies on that. I guess I'll speak to you later when you aren't busy, Alice." The long haired male stated frigidly before he turned to leave, his steps practically leaving an echo throughout Alice's ears as she watched him go,

This was rapidly becoming a nightmare as she still found herself paralyzed and unable to physically open her mouth to speak. With as much fear as she had, she hadn't had any time to notice that Julius had not only seen Joker, he also was able to hear him as well.

Joker turned his attention back to Alice pleasantly as he placed one of his index fingers back on her lips before he removed it and when he did, Alice found herself gasping for breath as her lips were able to part once again.

Nicely, the redhead smiled down at her, "I told you before that I don't like sharing you. Whenever you make friends, they hog you and I never get your attention, it really makes me angry." His hand moved to stroke her cheek lightly, "I won't hurt him if you're worried about that. Just make sure you don't become too friendly with him or else I'll have to intervene."

"You're crazy! Don't touch me!" She hissed while smacking his hand from her face.

He blinked his eye as she took a step backward from him.

Alice could feel her body threatening to erupt into trembles of fear but she resisted as strongly as she could as she glared up at him strongly, "You were some imaginary friend I had when I was younger, I don't know if you're some kind of demon or spirit or what, but whatever you are, I'm going to get _rid _of you."

She prepared to turn on her heel but as she did so she found her vision warping dangerously as her surroundings in the bookshop slowly began to dull and the distant slamming sound of metal clashing began to fill her eyes and the images of dark grey bars and steel prison cells began to formulate her gaze.

Too afraid to move, like a rabbit caught in a corner, she found her feet stopping as she looked around herself completely at a loss as to what to do.

"H-how?" She stammered out in confusion her body rotating around in a wild attempt to make sense of what had just occurred. She took a step backward and a low squeaking noise nearly made her jump as she glanced down to view a doll that was adorned in a bright blue dress smiling up at her. Now that she looked around, there were other toys littered around the ground even though she looked like she was in a prison.

Stuff like this couldn't happen, it just wasn't possible.

All at once, she found herself pushed up against one of the stone cold walls, her eyes fluttering open widely in an attempt to make sense of where she was and what exactly was happening.

Joker was now upon her, his outfit having changed to that of a prison warden as he cornered her up against the wall firmly, the smile on his face everlasting.

Fearfully, she watched up at him, desperate to get some kind of answer on what just happened, but before she could speak, one of his legs came down between hers on the wall before he brought his knee upward, trapping her in against his body.

"Silly, Alice." He breathed out with a darkening eye, "I honestly didn't want to have to bring you here, but I guess this is the only way to properly deal with you."

"Joker, I don't know how you're doing this, but stop…" Her words came out shakily as he brought his face to the crook of her neck intimately and she closed her eyes, hoping desperately that when she opened them next everything will have all just been a nightmare and she'd wake up in her room in cold sweat but breathing out in relief.

"I don't think you get it." Joker whispered into her neck darkly and Alice found a couple of tears welling up in her eyes as his hand began trailing up her leg dangerously, "You live a pathetic life. Everyone you care for and everyone that loves you either ends up dying or leaving you. You're _always _lonely and as long as you're feeling lonely, whether you admit to it or not, I'll _always _be there for you." He bit down on her skin and she gave a low squeak from behind his hand.

"You need me Alice." The redhead stated with a chuckle before he pulled back to look at her in the eye, "Without me, you're as good as dead."

**-.-**

**I actually don't know where the hell this idea came from but meh. It probably has a hell of a lot of plotholes because I didn't really think much of it when I wrote it but meep**

**I guess in explanation Joker is a kind of demon that traps people based on their loneliness/misfortune they're destined to have and shit idk when he realized Alice was a kind of person that could actually see him he got interested in her and a bit possessive (This is why he decided to pop back up when Alice had plans on asking Julius out because he kinda knew that if Julius and her do the frick frack Alice won't be lonely anymore, ya feel?)**

**This has been incredibly weak and a waste of 6k words but hey, it adds to my NaNoWriMo amount so holla.**

**Hope it was enjoyable.**

**(Omg for clarification this is a oneshot haha) **


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